Scooter

ABSTRACT

A scooter is constructed to include a front fork holding a front wheel, a base frame holding a pair of rear wheels, a coupling plate extended from the base frame and coupled to the front fork, a movable plate inserted through a transverse sliding slot in the rear vertical part of the angled front section of the flat base frame, a link coupled between the front fork and the rear end of the movable plate, and a steering control footplate rotatably supported on the flat base frame and pivoted with a front bottom rod thereof to the front end of the movable plate for enabling the rider to control the steering direction of the front wheel with the foot when riding the scooter.

CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The present invention is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/224,510 entitled “Scooter, which enables therider to control the steering direction with the toes.”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to scooters, and more particularly,to such a scooter, which enables the rider to control the steeringdirection with the toes.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] A variety of kick scooters and motor-driven scooters have beendisclosed, and have appeared on the market. These scooters commonlycomprise a flat base frame, a front fork holding a front wheel, acoupling device coupled between the front fork and the flat base frame,a pair of rear wheels bilaterally pivoted to the flat base frame, and ahandlebar fixedly fastened to the top end of the front fork for steeringcontrol. According to these conventional designs, the user mustmanipulate the handlebar to control the steering direction. Riding thesescooters require skill.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention has been accomplished under thecircumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention toprovide a scooter, which enables the rider to control the steeringdirection conveniently with the toes. It is still another object of thepresent invention to provide a scooter, which is safe and comfortable inriding. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, thescooter comprises a front fork holding a front wheel, a base frameholding a pair of rear wheels, a coupling plate extended from the baseframe and coupled to the front fork, a movable plate inserted through atransverse sliding slot in the rear vertical part of the angled frontsection of the flat base frame, a link coupled between the front forkand the rear end of the movable plate, and a steering control footplaterotatably supported on the flat base frame and pivoted with a frontbottom rod thereof to the front end of the movable plate for enablingthe rider to control the steering direction of the front wheel with thefoot when riding the scooter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007]FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a scooter according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

[0008]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a scooter according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

[0009]FIG. 3 is a schematic side view, showing the rider's foot fastenedto the steering control footplate according to the first embodiment ofthe present invention.

[0010]FIG. 4 is a schematic side view, showing the rider's foot fastenedto the steering control footplate according to the second embodiment ofthe present invention.

[0011]FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing showing the rider's one footfastened to the scooter and the other foot of the rider worn with aroller-skate.

[0012] FIGS. 6(a)˜(c) are schematic drawings showing steering controlactions of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0013] Referring to FIG. 1, a scooter is shown comprising a flat baseframe 10, a front fork 70 a, a front wheel 70 pivoted to the front fork70 a, a substantially Y-shaped link 60, a steering control footplate 20,a movable plate 40, and a coupling rod 402.

[0014] The flat base frame 10 comprises an angled front section 106, avertical pivot hole 104 in the big front horizontal part of the angledfront section 106, a transverse sliding slot 111 in the small rearvertical part of the angled front section 106, an arched front couplingplate 101 forwardly extended from the front side of the big fronthorizontal part of the angled front section 106, a barrel 102 verticallyformed integral with one end, namely, the front end of the frontcoupling plate 101 and defining an axle hole 102 a, a transmissionmechanism 30 and an upright rod 50 disposed near the rear side thereof,a vertical axle hole 103 spaced between the vertical pivot hole 104 andthe upright rod 50, a battery box 90 disposed at one side, and two rearwheels 400 bilaterally disposed near the rear side. The front fork 70 ahas a top shank 701. The forked front end of the Y-shaped link 60 iscoupled to the front fork 70 a. The steering control footplate 20comprises straps 201 for securing the user's foot, a rotary hub 202downwardly disposed on the middle, and a front bottom rod 203. Themovable plate 40 has a bottom rod 401 on the middle.

[0015] Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 1 again, the top shank 701 of thefront fork 70 a is inserted upwardly through the axle hole 102 a of thebarrel 102 of the flat base frame 10. The movable plate 40 is insertedthrough the transverse sliding slot 111 of the flat base frame 10,keeping the bottom rod 401 pivoted to the vertical pivot hole 104 of theflat base frame 10. The coupling rod 402 is vertically pivotally coupledbetween the rear end of the Y-shaped link 40 and the rear end of themovable plate 40. The rotary hub 202 of the steering control footplate20 is pivoted to the vertical axle hole 103 of the flat base frame 10,keeping the front bottom rod 203 pivoted to the front end of the movableplate 40. Further, the transmission mechanism 30 is electricallyconnected to the battery box 90, and controlled (by a wired controldevice or remote controller) to rotate the rear wheels 400.

[0016]FIGS. 2 and 4 show an alternate form of the present invention.According to this alternate form, the link, referenced by 60 a, has afront coupling rod 601 directly coupled to the top shank 701 of thefront fork 70 a.

[0017] Referring to FIGS. 3˜5 again, when in use, one foot is fastenedto the steering control footplate 20 by the straps 201, and the otherthe other foot is worn with a roller-skate 1000. Thus, the user can ridethe scooter and control the transmission mechanism 30 to move thescooter.

[0018] Referring to FIGS. 6(a)˜(c), the user can force the foot to turnthe steering control footplate 20 about the rotary hub 202, so as tofurther drive the movable plate 40 and the link 60 or 60 a to change thesteering direction of the front wheel 70.

[0019] Referring to FIGS. 3˜5 again, a handle 80 can be connected to thetop shank 701 of the front fork 70 a for enabling the rider to controlthe steering direction of the front wheel 70 with the hands.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 again, by means of controlling thecontroller to drive the brake (not shown) and to force the toe stop 1001of the roller-skate 1000 against the road surface, the scooter isstopped.

[0021] Referring to FIG. 1 again, the upright rod 50 is provided forhanging a basket, travel bag, chair, or any of a variety of the user'spersonal items.

[0022] A prototype of scooter has been constructed with the features ofFIGS. 1˜6. The scooter functions smoothly to provide all of the featuresdiscussed earlier.

[0023] Although particular embodiments of the invention have beendescribed in detail for purposes of illustration, various modificationsand enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited exceptas by the appended claims.

What the invention claimed is:
 1. A scooter comprising: a flat base frame, said flat base frame comprising an angled front section formed of a big front horizontal part and a small rear vertical part, a vertical pivot hole in the big front horizontal part of said angled front section, a transverse sliding slot in the small rear vertical part of said angled front section, an arched front coupling plate forwardly extended from a front side of said big front horizontal part of said angled front section, a barrel vertically formed integral with a front end of said arched front coupling plate and defining an axle hole, an upright rod disposed near a rear side thereof for hanging things, a vertical axle hole spaced between said transverse sliding slot and said upright rod, a battery box disposed at one side thereof, and two rear wheels bilaterally pivoted thereto near the rear side; a battery box installed in said flat base frame; a transmission mechanism installed in said flat base frame and adapted to rotate said rear wheels; a front fork holding a front wheel, said front fork having a top shank vertically upwardly inserted through the axle hole of the barrel of said flat base frame; a movable plate inserted through said transverse sliding slot of said flat base frame, said movable plate having a front end, a rear end, and a bottom rod downwardly extended from a bottom sidewall thereof on the middle and pivoted to the vertical pivot hole of said angled front section of said flat base frame; a link coupled between said front fork and the rear end of said movable plate; and a steering control footplate, said steering control footplate comprising a plurality of straps for fastening the rider's foot, a front bottom rod pivoted to the front end of said movable plate, and a rotary hub downwardly disposed on the middle and pivoted to the vertical axle hole of said flat base frame. 